Last year, after the Dodgers traded for Manny Ramirez, Andre Ethier went on a tear, hitting .462-.557-.692-1.249 in September, hitting in front of Manny.

This year, Ethier is hitting 4th, behind Manny, and is still raking. Through April 27th, Ethier is hitting .301-.429-.575-1.004 with 5 HR and 20 RBI, and he is on a 30 HR pace. He has two 2-HR games so far with 3 of his HRs coming against LH pitchers.

One of Ethier's weaknesses last year was hitting vs. LH pitchers. In 136 ABs vs LHers, Ethier hit only .243-.328-.368-.692, with 3 HR and 15 RBI. In April, Ethier is hitting LHers to the tune of .286-.375-.762-1.137 in 21 ABs, which is pretty close to how he is hitting vs RHers-.305-.448-.500-.948 in 52 ABs.

Ethier has batted anywhere from 2nd to 6th in the Dodgers lineup, but has batted cleanup for the most part. In 42 ABs as the cleanup hitter, he is hitting .333-.473-.476-.949 with 11 BBs and only 6 strikeouts. He also like the friendly confines of Dodger Stadium as he is hitting .391-.464-1.000-1.464 in  23 ABs.

Now, I am sure Ethier won't continue hitting close to .400 at home, but if he can continue hitting .275-.280 vs. LHers this year, and continue to hit more line drives and flyballs (which he has shown so far), he will come very close to hitting 30 HRs.

My question to faketeamers is this: can Ethier be an All-Star in 2009?